Kids Cuisine

I recently took an afternoon to re-organize my pantry. While doing so, I am came across package after package of small bits of pasta shapes. There wasn’t enough of any one kind really to do much with — maybe an addition to soup or for a very light lunch for just myself. What really caught my attention though was the package of pasta stars that I’d found hiding behind other packages. I bought the stars to make a homemade version of chicken and stars soup for a sick daughter once upon a time. Surely there were other uses for these tiny little pasta shapes.

I turned to Everyday Pasta by Giada De Laurentiis, and to be honest, I was just looking for a no-frills pasta treatment to apply to the stars. I did not expect to find what I did find — a recipe for Little Stars with Butter and Parmesan. There was no other choice. With four ingredients that were all on hand, this was worth a shot to see if my children liked it. In less than ten minutes I had a bowl of pasta that literally called to my children from across the room. They were excited and eagerly dove into the tiny star shapes.

It was a complete hit. Served up simply with some sliced cherry and pear tomatoes from the garden and some watermelon, I couldn’t have asked for a more simple dinner for my kids. They ate every last bite and announced that we should have cheesy stars more often.

Little Stars with Butter and Parmesan

makes 4 (1/2 cup) servings

• 1 Cup (6 ounces) stelline (star-shaped pasta) or other small pasta shapes
• 4 Tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Salt to taste

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring often to prevent the pasta from sticking together, about 8 minutes. Drain.

In a large bowl, toss the freshly cooked hot pasta with 2 tablespoons of the cheese until the cheese coats the pasta completely. Add the butter and the remaining 2 tablespoons of cheese. Toss again to coat. Season to taste with salt. Spoon the pasta into small serving bowls and serve immediately.